


Fire and Fury

by OctoRabbit (FeralFighter)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fantasy AU, Galra Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mentions of decapitation, Tags Will Update As Story Progresses, ratings may also change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2018-12-03 08:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11527977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeralFighter/pseuds/OctoRabbit
Summary: Childhood had been simpler, more innocent times. Times of playing make believe of valiant knights and horrifying monsters, times of laying in the grass and cloud gazing with friends, times of running freely through the village streets laughing and shouting at the top of you lungs. If only adulthood could be as simple.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When a new story idea comes and you need to actually get off your lazy arse and write it…fingers crossed that I can commit.  
> Big shout out to my proof reader Den! Thank you for being patient and instigating half of the insanity that inspired me to write this.

It was the sharp pain against his wrist that forced Shiro to drop his stick. "Oww! Keith, what was that for?!'

"I saw an opening and I took it." The younger said matter of factly as he swiped his own stick. The little runt seemed smug to get the one up on the 11 year old for once.

"Yeah, doesn't mean you actually have to hit me." Shiro said with a pout as he rubbed his injured wrist. Right on the bone too, ouch!

"You can't complain about that if you want to be in the royal guard."

Shiro just grumbled at the 9 year old as he goes to pick up his stick.

"Uttt!! You can't pick your sword up, I just cut off your hand!" Keith protested.

The only response Shiro gave was sticking out his tongue as he swapped his hand. "Alright, no mercy."

By the time Keith realized what he'd done, he screamed as Shiro charged towards him, barely able to deflect the strike.

\---

"You and peaches I swear." Shiro huffs as he pulled Keith's sleeve to guide him through the bustling crowd. While the younger was just as eager to see the important guests who've come to grace their village, the fruit in Keith's arm were also a priority.

He was going to eat so.many.peaches.

Weaving and shoving their way past the eager adults and children, the duo managed to make their way to the front of the crowd that left them awestruck.

Right there, in the center of the crowd was King Alfor in all his glory shaking hands and chatting with the villiage head; surrounded by his infamous elite royal guards, and standing right beside him was a small girl who was none other than Princess Allura.

"I can't believe we're actually seeing the King and Princess of Altea, AND the Kings royal guards with our own two eyes!" Shiro said as he practically vibrated in excitement. Keith let out a high pitched noise in agreement, his blue eyes practically glittering and he took a bite out of one of his peaches.

The little Princess was looking around curiously, though made no attempt to leave her father's side. She eventually locked eyes with the boys, giving them both a cheerful smile and a wave.

Shiro chuckled as he waved back. "The Princess is kinda cute, huh?"

Keith hummed in response. "She has pretty eyes."

"Oooh does Keith have a crush?" Shiro teased.

"No, gross." The younger didn't even try to hide his face of disgust at Shiro's words.

"Keith's got a girlfriend, Keith's got a- OUCH!" Shiro cried out at the large pip pegged at his head.

"You're a jerk." Keith growled as his cheeks begun to turn pink and took a bite out of his second peach.

\---

He just wanted to be alone. 

No, that was a lie. He was so damn lonely it hurt, and everyone in the village had to keep reminding him of that fact.

Jaw and fists clenched and curled himself into a tighter ball at the situation running through his head. He had just blown up at the bakers wife who stopped by to give him some leftover bread with that same damn smile and speaking to him in that same obnoxious tone everyone else spoke to him.

They pitied him, he was just a charity case that people took care of to make themselves feel like good samaritans. 'Oh poor little orphan boy, what kind of parents would abandon their child?' They'd think as he was given what no one else wanted and leave him alone in the tiny house his father bought just weeks before disappearing.

He has been crying since he chased the bakers wife off, unable to contain the whirlwind of emotions that flooded through him, so when he heard a knock at the door, he couldn't help but jump.

"Hey Keith, you home?"

Oh Gods it's Shiro.

"C'mon buddy, I know you're in there. Why weren't you at practice?"

With a shakey breath Keith stood up and moved for the door, knowing full well Shiro won't leave, and he'd find out anyway. Gods he hated how persistent Shiro could be.

The second the door was open, the elder's slightly annoyed expression instantly warped to worry.

"Keith?... Hey Keith, what's wrong?" Shiro's voice cracked as he stepped closer.

Keith quickly stepped back, eyes darting to the ground, causing Shiro to cease his advances.

"Keith, please..."

Damn it all to hell the floodgates released again as tears streamed down his face without any signs of stopping. With another shuddery breath, Keith was finally able to look him in the eye, no mater how pathetic he looked.

"W-why.... W-why did dad leave m-m-me?" He finally choked out. Next thing he knew, he was in Shiro's arms as the elder held him close, a hand running through his dark hair soothingly.

"Shhh it's okay bud, it'll be okay. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for it" Shiro said calmly as the boy in his arms lost what little control he had left and cried into his chest. He cried and cried and cried, and all Shiro did was stand there with sad eyes as he continued to comfort his friend.

By the time Keith finally calmed down to a hiccuping mess, Shiro finally pulled away, still keeping contact by rubbing the others scrawny arms.

"Feeling any better?" Shiro asked, genuinely concerned.

Keith nodded his head and gave a weak 'yeah' in response.

"Did you want to come over to my place? I'm sure mum and dad would be more than happy to have you over." Shiro offered, keeping his voice as gentle as possible.

Keith shook his head, no.

"...Did you want me to stay over?"

Keith was surprised by that offer and was unsure on how to answer.

"C'mon, it'll be great! I could whip us up a special recipe my grandpa taught me, you'll love it."

Keith finally caved, tense shoulders finally drooping "...O-okay."

"Just need to run home and get the ingredients and get my stuff. I'll be right back!"

Keith tensed up again at the idea of Shiro leaving. "W-wait!" He cried out, but it was too late. Shiro had already ran off.

The unbridled sense of abandonment bubbled up again and he couldn't tell if he wanted to cry from pain or scream in anger. Of course Shiro ran away, it was stupid to assume he wasn't like the others or actually cared, his own damn father didn't even want him.

Of course all those hateful feelings were flushed out with bewilderment and confusion once Shiro returned with a bag slung over his back and another full of food in his hands.

It took Shiro another round of comforting a hysterically crying boy, apologizing like crazy as the younger shed tears of relief, before he could settle in and start preparing dinner.

With full bellies and the strain of a full day's worth of strong fluctuating emotions finally crashing down, the boy's turned in for an early night. Shiro more than happy to let Keith cling onto him as they cuddled up in bed.

It was that day that Keith finally found someone he knew actually cared after years of feeling alone.

\---

"Shiro!" BANG BANG "Shiro!"

Shiro opened his bleary eyes, head still foggy from sleep as he was interrupted by banging and shouting from his window. Dragging himself out of bed, he walked uncoordinatedly towards the window. Whatever the hell he was woken up for better be damn important.

No surprise Keith was the one making the racket. Whatever it was it must be something big for the 13 year old to look as manic as he was right now.

"Keith-" Shiro yawned as he undid the latch and opened his window. "Keith, what are you doing here, It's too early for practice." He managed to say as he failed to hold back another yawn.

"You're not going to believe what everyone in the village is talking about, like holy shit!" Keith said as he beated his hands against the sill enthusiastically.

"Language! So what's this so called unbelievable thing everyone is talking about?"

"Lord Zarkon betrayed King Alfor! Something really big must have happened because Zarkon's been banished from the kingdom!"

Well that was certainly a way to wake someone up.

"Are you serious? The Black Knight himself betrayed the King??" Shiro squawked in disbelief, cringing slightly as his voice cracked.

Keith nodded vigorously, seeming unable to contain his childlike excitement. "Yeah, it's all anyone is talking about."

"Oh wow." Was all that Shiro could push out. This new development had his mind reeling; Lord Zarkon, one of the Kings personal guard, the Black Knight that Shiro had looked up to since he was just a child had committed treason against the Altean Kingdom. "Keith, do you have any idea what this means?"

Keith only responded with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"It means that the new position for the Black Knight is open, and who knows how long that'll take. If I keep training and get accepted as an apprentice then maybe..." Shiro's chest swelled at the thought of becoming the prestigious Black Knight, being the leader of the Kings personal royal guard, being the brave hero he always dreamt of being.

Of course Keith had to ruin his fantasy as he bursted out laughing, snorting away like a little piggy.

"Oh yeah your perfect to be the Black Knight, especially with your weird gangly body and squeaky voice." The younger teased.

"Keith!!" Shiro growled before quickly slapped a hand over his mouth as his voice broke. Damn puberty had to prove the other right at the worst time.

Keith found himself in another fit of laughter, Shiro glared at him when he was grasping onto the window sill for support till he settled down and able to breathe properly.

"O-*snort* Okay I kid, I kid! Shiro, you're the best in the village; you almost never miss practice, you're teaching me and the others things we'd never learn if it wasn't for you, and remember the time you stopped that thief?"

"That was a collaborative effort between the both of us." Shiro interjected.

"Yeah, we stopped her and you were so cool! She didn't stand a chance when she tried to attack you. How many kids our age can say they took on a real criminal? There's no doubt you'll be accepted to get proper training to be a real knight, they'd be stupid not to."

The older couldn't help but feel embarrassed by all the things Keith was spouting "Jeez Keith, you have way too much faith in me."

"Someone's got to, I mean you're the only person in this damn place who has any faith in me so of course the feeling's mutual."

A smile stretched across Shiro's face at that. "Thanks Keith."

Keith returned the smile.

"Since you're here, I'm going to assume you're going to raid the fruit trees out back?"

"Do bears shit in the forest?"

Shiro snorted at the response. "Language. I think mum has taken all the ripe peaches to sell, but I think there's still plenty of mulberries to pick."

It took a moment for Shiro to notice Keith raced off at the mention of mulberries. With another snort, Shiro moved to go get a damp towel, fully aware Keith is going to look like he came out of a murder scene from being stained in berry juice. The kid had absolutely no impulse control.

\---

"Oh my fucking gods!" Came a shriek as Keith threw his handmade spear that impaled a rabbit. The smaller boy didn't understand why Matt was so upset, he just scored the group some rabbit stew tonight.

The pair rushed over to their freshly caught game and Matt let out another distressed noise from his throat.

"Keith, the poor thing's still alive..."

Oh.

So it was.

For probably the 8th time in 5 minutes, Matt let out another shriek as the rabbit let out a squeal when Keith stomped on the little vermin's head. The older boy couldn't hold back his tears anymore

"Keith how could you!" Matt bawled

Keith just looked at him nonchalantly, completely oblivious on how much he was traumatizing his friend. "What? I just put it out of it's misery."

"You could have done it more humanely!"

"I did. I killed it quickly so it didn't have to suffer."

"You crushed it's head!"

Keith rolled his eyes "It going to be food soon enough. I don't know why you're complaining."

With a sniff, Matt just stared at Keith in disbelief. If he didn't know him personally, and that Shiro had the kid on the straight and narrow, he'd assume he was a sociopath.

With 3 rabbits in hand, the pair returned to their camp, no surprise to see the older two sitting by the fire, looking at the sky while Matt's father, Samuel, was pointing to different places while explaining stories and theories to Shiro. Of course Shiro was lapping up everything the man was saying.

"Hey boys, glad you're back!" Samuel chirped once he sighted the young teens. His smile faltered as he had a proper look at his son. "Matt, are you alright? You don't look well."

Matt groaned, "I don't feel well..."

"Let me guess, Keith got a little full on to what you're used to?" Shiro chuckled, only for Matt to give him a dirty look to confirm his comment and rant about his harrowing experience.

Of course Keith had tuned them out in favor of prepping dinner. Knife in hand, he begun cutting the pelt off the meat, followed by gutting, washing, and chopping the meat up into pieces with precision before plopping them into the pan next to the pot that was already boiling on the campfire.

"Oooh, looks like you got some big ones." Samuel commented as the youngest of the group sat next to him. 

Keith just shrugged. "Pretty average really... What were you and Shiro talking about?"

"He was asking me about stories behind some of the constellations, he seems very intrigued by the stars."

"Doesn't surprise me." Keith said boredly, leaning to rest his head in his hand.

"It's really quite fascinating. If you look up now you can already see the Blue and Yellow stars of Voltron are already on show!"

Both Matt and Shiro seemed to stop whatever they were discussing to look up, Keith following shortly after to no surprise to see a bright blue and yellow star shining brightly and standing out from the sunset.

"You're not going to give us the same damn childs tale everyone else says about the Stars of Voltron are you?" Keith mumbled.

"Keith." Shiro warned.

Samuel laughed. "Well those stories have been embellished a bit. Most know the tale of the stars blessing the royal guards, which is only part true; only those worthy of being part of the kingdoms elite guard are chosen and it's because they were chosen that they are by the kings side."

Keith rolled his eyes, Matt seemed content, clearly been through many retellings of this story, and to no one's surprise Shiro seemed eager to hear more. With that Samuel continued.

"Each of those stars connect a tower, just follow the stars and they'll guide your way, but only those worthy and with permission from the royal family are able to enter and face the trials. Those who succeed the trials will meet the tower's patron lion goddess and will receive their blessing and give them incredible power."

"Let me guess, and those who fail die horribly." Keith stated.

With a snap of his fingers, Samuel pointed at him, "Bingo!"

"Have you ever seen the towers on your travels Mr Holt?" Shiro inquired.

"Sure have! I've only visited one which homes the Goddess of the Forests before Matt started joining me on my annual trips. It's a real shame I'll never get to see what it's like inside but just seeing the tower itself and knowing the stories behind it is breathtaking."

"Think I'll ever get to see one Dad?" Matt asked with an eager grin.

"I'm sure we could arrange something, but not this time. We need to reach the kingdom to deliver those important research notes."

Matt deflated at the answer, which made Keith snort in amusement. Moving up to check the pan, he shifted and poked at the now browning meat.

"Looks good... Shiro, mind cutting up the veggies?"

"Can do." Shiro answered as he pushed himself up to grab the sack of vegetables they had prepared for this little camping trip.

With his attention back to the pan, Keith gave it another shake to flip the chunks onto uncooked sides . If he was going to be stuck listening to silly fairy tales and myths, he may as well make the best damn meal to make sure the night wasn't completely miserable.

\---

They both knew this day was coming, it was an inevitable fact of life. Shiro was a big boy and about to carve his own path to become a man, but one last trial stood in his way from persuing his dreams.

That trial was Keith.

"Stop giving me that look, you're acting like I'm abandoning you." Shiro said as he looked up from his bag he was doing one last check to see if he had all his necessities and belongings.

Keith leaned against the doorway, arms folded against his chest and unable to completely hide the bitter sadness from his face. "You kind of are...."

Shiro couldn't help a sigh from escaping as he folded a shirt. "You knew this was going to happen eventually Keith, I thought you'd be happy that I'm finally going to get proper training to become a real knight."

"I-I am happy for you, it's just...-" Keith drifted off, eyes darting to the ground as he tried to think of what to say before eventually huffing through his nose loudly. "I'm really happy for you, it's just going to take time to process knowing you'll be gone."

With another shirt folded, Shiro gave him a weak smile. "I know it's going to be hard for you but you'll be fine, it's not like I'll be gone forever. I'll be sure to send you letters as often as I can."

Keith was quiet, a tense silence fallen between them, before sighing heavily through his nose again. "I'm being selfish, I know that, but you...-" he trailed off again, this time looking Shiro dead in the eye, blue eyes glassy and full of emotions. Eventually Keith broke contact as he stopped leaning on the frame and stormed away, leaving a surprised and hurt Shiro.

"Wh- Keith!" Shiro cried out and he chased after him. "Keith, come back!"

It was too late, the younger boy was already gone, leaving Shiro at home alone.

He couldn't believe it; they had been best friends for so long, getting into crazy adventures together and always having each other's back. Was that it? Was Keith so cut up at the idea of Shiro leaving that it too hard for him to bare?

There was no one to blame, Keith hasn't ever had it easy after being abandoned by both his parents. He knew that he was Keith's most important staple in his life, and it hurt him to think that him following his childhood dream is what broke them apart. There was nothing he could do except pack for his journey.

Sleep didn't come easy that night, he wanted to tell himself it was because of excitement, but he knew he was still hung up over Keith.

He left home before the sun had even risen. His parents were there to see him off, his father and little brother proud, and his mother weeping at the thought of her eldest son leaving home, but it was a warm, happy send off. He chose to walk his horse through the town towards the entrance of the village, he'd rather not wake everyone up with the sound of galloping. He had just reached the archway when he noticed a hooded figure resting against the stone walls of the arch.

The person seemed to have been zoned out, possibly asleep even, till they perked up and noticed Shiro's presence for which they jumped up to their feet and pulled back their hood.

"Shiro..."

"Keith?" He breathed and stopped in his footsteps, his horse jerking to a stop with a tug of the lead.

"I... I'm sorry for yesterday. It was selfish of me to not consider your feelings. I know how important this is to you." Keith flushed, unable to hide his awkwardness, which succeeded in pulling a smile from Shiro.

"It's alright Keith, I understand. I'm just so grateful you came to see me before I go."

"Are you kidding, as if I'd miss out on seeing you off." Keith said as he moved forward and extended his hand "Travel safe, and good luck with everything."

"Thanks Keith." Shiro extended his own hand to seal the handshake before pulling Keith forward and trapping him in a hug, hands still held together at their chests. He couldn't help but grin as Keith made a surprised grunt at the action. "I do plan to keep my promise of writing to you whenever i can."

Keith remained silent for a moment before he wrapped his free arm around him to reciprocate the hug and buried his face into the taller man's shoulder. "I know, I'll be sure to write back."

They stayed like that for a few more seconds before Shiro begrudgingly had to pull away. "I have to go now, hopefully we'll see each other soon."

"Yeah..."

"And this means I'm leaving the village in your care. I better not hear that it's been burned down or been overrun by criminals."

"Please, I'll have this place running better now that you're gone." Keith snorted before they both broke into laughter.

Once they settled down Shiro gave Keith one last hard pat on the shoulder before walking through the archway, both waving each other off till Shiro mounted his horse and rode off.

Once out of sight, Keith visibly deflated, unable to keep smiling anymore as his best friend was now gone from his life. It hurt a lot knowing he was on his own again, but he was still happy for Shiro, he was going to achieve great things with his life.

Now he just needed to figure out what to do with his.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a decent portion of this had been sitting around for almost 7 months... I have the attention span of a goldfish with these type of things, too many ideas, so little time.   
> Anyway I recently had people showing interest in this again, and with perfect timing as the idea never left my mind, as well as the fact I've been completely obsessed with the Dragon Friends DnD podcast lately and given me some ideas... but yeah its great to see people actually showing interest after so long, I felt that the lack might have been part of why I left it
> 
> Anyway here's a Shiro heavy chapter!

How many years has it been since that fateful day when that fool Alfor banished him from the kingdom?

5?

10?

It's hard to keep track of it all when you spend your time plotting your revenge. In this time Zarkon had been traveling to different kingdoms, seeking the knowledge and power he so desperately seeked after the Altean King had stripped him of the powers of the Black Goddess. He may no longer have the power of an almighty deity, but he had found his alternative.

Climbing up the treacherous mountain, he feared not when the rocks he gripped would crumble in his strong hands, or the ledges would give way under his feet as powerful gusts of wind attempted to blow him away. He was a man on a mission and no one would stop him.

Through his research he had discovered about the witch who dwelled in the mountains. An Altean elf who had been known as the royal seer generations ago; a being gifted in the art of magic, and beauty that were equally envied by those around her. Her fall from grace was at the hands of her coming into the practice of forbidden black magic; it was only a matter of time for her deeds to go noticed and for the darkness to corrupt her. The current King of the time had banished her before she could cause any significant harm.

A silly child's tale really. But so were the Stars of Voltron.

One hand reaching up after the other, Zarkon finally reached the summit, the mountain no challenge to the formally revered Black Knight. He wouldn't deny to himself to be spooked to see a hooded figure leering at him once he had pulled himself up out of seemingly nowhere.

"Lord Zarkon." The woman rasped, golden eyes on him intensely as if she was already dissecting him.

"Lady Haggar, it is an honor to make your acquaintance." Zarkon bowed, earning a nod from the frail witch. "I come to-"

"I know why your here. The former Black Knight who betrayed the kingdom by attacking the Queen of Altea with the intention of taking out the rest of the family so you could have the kingdom for yourself. You've been stripped of your title and blessing so you've come to me."

Oh? Clever woman.

"I see my actions have managed to reach somewhere as isolated as here."

"I know many things of the world beyond this mountain" the witch sneered, her eyes almost seemed to glow. "...And I forsee the future you seek with my assistance."

"Does that mean you will help me with my plan?" Zarkon inquired.

Haggar was silent, continuing to gaze intensely at the man in front of him. "I shall, I want to rid this earth of that wretched family." With a decrepit hand, she lunged forward to grip the larger man's face in her deceivingly frail looking hand. "You have very ancient blood in your veins, as do many others in this land. We will use it to our advantage."

Zarkon couldn't stop the twisted grin from stretching across his face at whatever devious plan the witch had in mind. "Do what you have to."

"It will come at a price." Haggar warned.

He didn't care, he'd do anything to give Alfor the comeuppance he deserved, no matter the sacrifice.

\---

"Shirogane, what the hell are you doing!"

Shiro flinched at the screeching of his mentor, causing a nice black line of ink to slash along the parchment he was writing on. With a sigh he rolled up his now ruined letter for his parents around his quill and grab his inkwell, cramming a cork top into the bottle before stashing it all in his pockets as he ran out of the stables.

"L-lord Iverson sir!" Shiro called out as he approached the knight, otherwise known as his mentor.

While he was thankful he was able to prove himself worthy of training from one of the knights of the Altean Kingdom, he did forget one important detail...

"How long does it take to clean a few horses hooves. If I wasn't impressed with your skills with a blade I would have replaced you with another page who could get his tasks done on time." Iverson griped, annoyance clearly etched into his face.

Yep. He got so caught up in his childish dreams that he didn't realize that there were steps needed to be a knight. To be fair, there was only so much he could learn from his tiny, secluded village with very limited knowledge, how was he supposed to know being a page was part of the process?

"My apologies Sir. One of the mares seemed to have had stones stuck right in her hoof and it took a bit of effort to dig out." Shiro stated. It wasn't a lie but the stones were easy work, he just wanted a few minutes of free time write to his parents, which was becoming a very difficult task with his current workload. If he wasn't doing actual training it was tending to the horses, or cleaning the stables, or cleaning his mentors rooms, to doing tiny jobs and errands that honestly makes him suspect Iverson was extorting his power over him by how simple the jobs would be. A man of his status should be able to pour his own damn wine without grief!

Lord Iverson looked Shiro in the eye, searching for any nervous ticks as indication of fibs. Shiro stood straight face under the man's scrutiny before turning away.

“Well if you're done here, clean up. We have important guests visiting the kingdom, and I've volunteered you to pick them up from the kingdom's entrance.”

“Yes, Sir.” Shiro responded, trying his best to look as professional and serious as possible in spite that all he wanted to do was grin. It was that time of year again. As soon as Iverson left, Shiro made quick work of cleaning the remaining horses hooves before making his way to his quarters, letter quickly forgotten as his mind was focused elsewhere. It'd be fine, he'll just have to wait till later to tell his parents about his shitkicker jobs and misadventures as a page, for now he had bigger priorities.

With a quick wash down with a wet rag and changing into nicer clothes that didn't have the musk of horse stables and shit clinging to it, Shiro had powered his way down the busy streets. As usual for the Altean kingdom the streets were buzzing with life as merchants tried to sell goods, small elven children frolicking around playing make believe, and the wealthy sauntering around in their high quality garbs and stuck out like sore thumbs among the middle class. Shiro had been here for a few months now and the chaotic city life was still a culture shock after being born and raised in a tiny secluded village; the novelty of it all had yet to wear off.

Weaving through the busy street traffic and resisting the temptations the merchants would try to sway him to buy their goods, Shiro finally made it to the entrance gate, failing to resist the shit eating grin when he saw 2 familiar faces. 

“Mr Holt! Matt!” he cried out with a wave, earning the pair’s attention, as well as the guards they had been speaking to

“No way, Shiro!” Matt shouted excitedly, brown eyes brightening up at the man before him as he ran up to the other and being pulled into a hug. “Oh my Gods Shiro it's been ages!”

Shiro couldn't help but snort. “Obviously, it's been a year like always.”

“Over a year thank you very much, you're not back at the village this time.” Matt said matter of factly, only to shout when Shiro pulled him into a headlock for a noogie.

“Yeah yeah no one likes a smartarse.”

“Hey!”

Gods he missed this; since moving to the kingdom he had to stick to an air of professionalism and constant sucking up to his superiors day in day out, it was nice to see a familiar face to goof off with.

“Shiro, it's good to see you my boy!” Samuel chimed.

Shiro ceased torturing his friend and straightened himself out. “As well as you Mr Holt.”

“You wouldn't happen to be the welcoming party to come get us would you?”

“Indeed I would be, Sir.”

“Riiiight. So who’s your superior? I'd like to put in a complaint of assault from one of their knights.”

Matt squealed as Shiro pushed him playfully

“Very funny Matt. Now if you'll both follow me I can take you to the castle.” Shiro began leading the way back through the bustling streets, the Holts following close behind me.

“So Shiro, how's the big city been treating you?” Samuel asked, trying to strike up conversation.

“It's alright I guess, there's still a lot that seems strange to me even though it's been a few months. Guess I'll never quite stop being a country bumpkin at heart.” Shiro chuckled, quickly turning to dodge the Orc who was examining the the fresh produce at a stall.

“Well you still have that twang in your voice.” Matt joked. “At least when we head back I can tell Keith you haven't started talking all posh and fancy, I'm sure he'll be relieved.”

“Keith… how is he? I've been sending him letters but I have no way of getting a reply.”

“Keith can read?”

“Only basic stuff since my brother and I were teaching him, he really struggles to write though so he doesn’t bother.”

“Huh… Well yeah, Keith is doing well, kinda gets a bit sulky wherever you're brought up. He's apparently doing very well at keeping the town safe and criminal activity is at an all time low.”

Shiro laughed lightly, of course Keith would take their last discussion to heart just to show him up. He'll definitely have to tell him he's very proud of him in his next letter.

The walk back to the castle was a purposely slow, perfect to chat and get up to speed with everything. Mr Holt’s discussed his current research studies, Matt bragged about his sister Katie and how she's going to be an amazing alchemist when she's older. Shiro corrected Matt from his earlier statement that he was only a page which earned teasings from Matt for Shiro’s lack of knowledge, only to be scolded by his father. It made for good distractions from the long walk until they finally reached the stairs of the castle, where Iverson stood tall and proud.

“Professor and Mr Holt, so good to see you again.” Iverson greeted with a bow before turning to Shiro. “Shirogane, you have been relieved of duties for the remainder of the day.”

“Sir!” Shiro barked with a salute.

Iverson turned to leave, Samuel following suit, Matt quickly moved next to Shiro quietly.

“So once this is all done, we'll meet up later and you can show us some places to eat, alright?” 

“Sounds like a plan.” Shiro hummed as Matt beamed a smile before quickly running to catch up with his father.

With the rest of the day free to do whatever he pleased, now would be the perfect time to write to his family like he tried to before being rudely interrupted, heck he'll even be able to write to Keith!

Wasting no time, Shiro went straight to his quarters to do just that. With a fresh parchment, Shiro took his time to think and articulate what he wanted to share with his family and Keith. He probably spent more time than necessary over simple letters as he had finished both, the sky, once bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky, was now overcast. admittedly something seemed off about it, he wasn't quite sure if it was the unusual colour of the clouds or just the air as the wind picked up that made him slightly unsettled and ominous.

He shook his head; it was ridiculous to be wound up over storm clouds… and yet he was.

The sudden bang on his door snapped his head to the to the source of the noise in a flash. Once again he was being ridiculous, this was usually the time the maids come in to bring clean linen.

Not wishing to leave the maid waiting, he moved towards the door, only for his reflexes to kick in at the nick of time as a blade almost impaled his skull. Gray eyes widened in horror at the creature before him; tall, purple reptilian-like skin with near dark blue scales speckled over its face with piercing yellow eyes that almost seemed to glow. He'd never seen anything like it.

The creature clearly bothered from missing its target moved to strike again, Shiro quickly jumped out of the way in time as the sword went down with a thundering crack into the floor. 

With no time to think; Shiro quickly grabbed his chair from his desk, pulling back before swinging it forward when the beast turned to him, unprepared for the furniture to collide and smash into its face. With a cry it tumbled to the ground, dropping its sword in the process, which Shiro bolted forwards, grabbing the sword before dashing towards the exit. 

He had to warn the guards was his only thought as he dashed through the halls. So caught up in what had just happened, he accidentally collided with one of the maids who squealed as she hit the ground.

“I- I'm so sorry Merriam.” Shiro puffed as he helped her to her feet. “You need to get out of here and warn everyone, there's a strange creature that attacked me in my room and I-”

Words failed him as the sclera of Merriam’ eyes began to quickly yellow, followed by shrieking as if she was in immense pain. Shiro watched on in shocked horror at the sounds of bones cracking as the woman in front of him began to change. Her limbs seemed to spurt out in a disturbingly painful manner as her face twisted and morphed with her, her dark hair seemed like it was hardening and her skin turned a soft lilac.

By the time she stopped screaming and began huffing instead, her head shot up to look at Shiro which seemed to snap him out of his stupor. He recognized immediately that was the look of a wild animal ready to maul. Without hesitation Shiro smacked Merriam with the flat of his blade to the face, the woman, now beast, let out an oof as she hit the ground again. He still didn't understand what was happening but he did know he needed to get out of asap.

Once again he was running, his mind spiralling with too many thoughts at once. What are those creatures? It's not coincidental that there was more than 1. Why did Merriam turn into one of those things? He needed to warn everyone, especially the royal guards. The king and the princess might be in danger. What the hell is happening??

As soon as he made it to the end of the hall, through the doors and down the stairwell, Shiro was welcomed to the horrific sight of bodies laid scattered on the floor in a sea if blood, limbs and chunks of viscera could be seen all over the room, the visible faces were immediately recognized as the castle guards and maids and worse of all there were two more of those creatures, looking proud of what they had done.

It was too much, he couldn't stop shaking and his body refused to move no matter how much he mentally screamed to run. When those creatures spotted him, they both gave him menacing smiles as they prowled closer until they loomed over him.

He wasn't quite sure what happened next, it was a blur of shouts and screams and the feel of warm blood on his body and sword, yet he was still standing. By the time his brain could catch up and make him fully conscious of the situation, those beasts bodies were cut up and now draining on the floor. He had no memory of what just happened but he won.

At this time he was able to recognize the uniforms of the castles cooks, or the tattered remains that adorned the beasts. It made him ill knowing he cut down people he knew and got along with but what choice did he have when they slaughtered so many people and tried to add him to the collection?

Once again everything was piling up and overwhelmed him, too much was happening at once. Strange purple creatures suddenly appeared from nowhere, people were turning into said creatures with no explanation he could possibly think of, he was confused and scared beyond belief, and he was so physically exerted from this experience he just wanted to lay down and rest.  
His body seemed to like the idea as he collapsed to his knees, the rest of him toppling over into the sea of blood soon after as his vision went blank 

\---

“We found this survivor within the castle Lord Zarkon. He seemed to have taken out 2 of your men” came an echoed voice that barely registered in Shiro’s foggy mind.

Zarkon… Zarkon… wait what?

Shiro eased back to consciousness, head sluggishly looking up to see himself not in the bloody room he passed out in, but the royal throne room, surrounded by more of those strange creatures, all unsettling yellow eyes trained on him as he looked up at the enormous figure looking over him from the throne.

“Quite impressive for someone so young.” the giant figure hummed

“Yes. He might just prove himself to be worth taking a look at.” came the comment from the small hooded figure, obviously female judging from the voice standing next to the larger, imposing creature.

“If this young page was able to kill 2 of my enhanced men, then he may be worth having around if he's able to earn his keep.”

A shiver ran down Shiro’s spine as they talked about him. It took every ounce of courage within him to speak.

“Zarkon?... You can't possibly be Zarkon.” was all he could croak out. Another chill could be felt as the beast’s gazed directly at him, his presence emanating terrifying power.

“Foolish page, you think a meer banishment could stop me?”

“Impossible. He was human, he no longer possesses the blessing of-”

“The Black Goddess?” the creature finished. “I may no longer hold the power given to me by a powerful deity, but I have found unimaginable power elsewhere, even if a few sacrifices had to be made.”

Shiro swallowed hard as he gritted his teeth. “if you really are Zarkon, then you still won't be a match for King Alfor and his guard. They defeated you once, they'll defeat you again.”

A deafening silence resonated throughout the room, Zarkon seemed to have ceased humoring him, and it was the hooded woman to finally speak.

“King Alfor and his guard are dead you naive child. Lord Zarkon now rules this land.”

It felt like Shiro couldn't breathe. “No.” he managed to choke out, as he began resisting the creatures who were restraining him, with very little success of breaking free. “You're lying! They’re the kingdoms most powerful warriors, they can't possibly be dead!”

“Take him away, Lord Zarkon does not wish to see this unsightly behaviour.” the woman commanded.

Shiro struggled with all his might in a hopeless effort to escape his captors grasps as the dragged him away, the intense feeling of hopelessness washing over him as he was dragged further and further away till he was removed from the throne room. Still he fought against the beasts that dragged him through the halls, coming past an open window with a view that made his heart stop.

Blaytz… Gyrgan… Trigel… King Alfor… all 4 of his childhood heroes, nothing more than bloody severed heads impaled on pikes from a view where the whole kingdom could see.

The fight within him drained from every inch of his body in that instance; no longer resisting his captives as they dragged him lower and lower into the castle to be thrown into a cell with several other terrified prisoners.

At this point Shiro could barely bring himself to do more than withdraw into his mind, how something that was slowly becoming a good day dramatically change to the most traumatic experience of his life. All he wanted to do was curl up and close his eyes and hopefully wake up back in his village, where it's safe and peaceful and he's protected by his family and friends.

Instead he now had to wait in terrifying uncertainty of his fate.

\---

Back in the throne room Zarkon sat with the witch Haggar at his side, both presenting with unreadable expressions as one of their newly formed minions entered through the giant doors. In spite of the creatures new menacing appearance, he couldn't help but let his nerves waiver under their intimidating presence.

“My Lord,” he bent to his knee and bowed, “My men have scoured the castle and no sign of the princess.”

“Have you checked for secret passages that lead out of the castle?” Haggar inquired, eyes narrowing in on the man in front of her.

“Secret passages?”

Haggar sneered, not at all impressed with the response. “Send a search party into the city and bring us the princess dead or alive. Either we rid this world of that family once and for all or I will use her as a test subject. Now go.”

“Yes ma'am.” The man got to his feet and hastily left the throne room.

“So now that you are King, what do you intend to do now?” Haggar asked, turning her attention towards Zarkon.

“For now we will rally all of our men under our control and sworn loyalty, and lay waste to those who dare defy me. Then we shall expand our land.” Zarkon paused as he looked out at the sky through the window, the ominous clouds growing darker, implying heavy rain will come. “We'll have total control over this country, and those who think they can stop me will perish.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coincidental update on one of the best boys Birthday  
> HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHIRO!!!  
> (I'm sorry I couldn't make something special for you... and I'm sorry I'm putting you through the ringer again ;u; )  
> Also I am so not ready for s5 tomorrow...

_Blood._

_The clash of metal on metal, fists to jaws._

_Pain._

_The harrowing echos of ripping flesh, crunching of bones breaking, the splatter of blood on the ground._

_Screams._

_Screams of terror...no wait that's the sound of cheering, the sound of wanting more._

_Carnage._

_Eery yellow eyes focused on him, speeding towards him before he could blink with blade in hand in motion for a fatal stri-_

Shiro gasped as he jerked awake, eyes darting around manically, taking several minutes to compose himself as his brain caught up to inform him that he was in no immediate danger.

Birds hidden in the trees tweeted away as the leaves rustled in the wind; the morning was pleasant in the shade of the tree above him. The peaceful surrounding a dramatic contrast to his night terrors. Shiro couldn't remember the last time he'd woken up without already feeling exhausted, unfortunately today continued that tiresome streak, his bandaged right arm was particularly achy.

He remained still for a long while, soaking in the serenity of nature. Tired eyes would try to source the cry of birds and lazily followed them whenever they flew away. The contemplation of just remaining on the forest floor till either he expired or a bear would come and maul him shone some appeal, to become one with nature and one with the forest but thought against it. He'd just achieved his freedom from Hell, this wasn't something he could waste.

With absolute reluctancy, Shiro sat up slowly before getting to his feet, batting away the dirt, grass, and bugs that clung to his backside. His main mission for now was to find water, his sore dry throat begging to be hydrated and get that furry morning taste out of his mouth.

His search for a river or lake had been unsuccessful but not for naught as he found himself on the roadside, conveniently at the sign pointing towards the town of Harrow. Raising his hood he ventured along the path, the morning sun turning to afternoon was beginning to kick and aggravating his thirst. ‘If only I had a horse’ he mentally groaned as his feet would trudge forward, forcing himself to keep moving until the rooftops of the town could be seen through the trees much to his relief.

The town, though small, was thriving with life as stores and stalls were open with many interested customers, a couple carts traveling through, a group of dwarven teenagers gossiping away while 2 young boys were chasing a girl around with a stick. It was all overwhelming for Shiro, too long had he been isolated and only companions had been the prisoners, the guards, and the cheering of people who demanded blood for their entertainment. Though peaceful, the masses was too much for Shiro to cope with so easily. His needs to find somewhere quieter were cemented when he saw a pair of Galran authorities strutting down the street.

Eyes flicked around, falling on a hanging sign titled the Dragonback Tavern which he darted towards with great urgency. Inside the poorly lit building he was startled by shouting coming from a dwarven man as he ranted at an odd trio consisting of a halfling, a high elf, and a half orc who… seemed to have a dead rat on her shoulder? Shiro pulled a face in morbid curiosity at the sight of the deceased rodent, choosing to ignore the dispute as the handful of other patrons seem to do, most seemed to show that the shouting was a frequent occurrence, whether that the tavern attracted the troublesome kind, or that particular trio were local menaces. 

Taking his seat at the bar, he pulled down his hood and allowed himself to relax (or as much as one could with a screaming dwarf in the background). His right arm throbbed painfully as he rested his head in his left hand leaning on the wooden surface as he tuned out and let his mind wander with the fairies, only tuning back in once he was caught blankly staring at a man who he clearly didn’t hear talking to him before he let out an angry huff and stormed out. Blinking out of his disassociation, the dwarf seemed to have finished his business and was found cleaning a glass from behind the bar, taking notice of his patron snapped back to reality.

“Nice to see you back with the living stranger. Welcome to the Dragonback Tavern, what’s your poison?’

Shiro swallowed, reminding just how dry his throat was, “Water.” He rasped.

With a nod, the bartender was quick to give his drink, Shiro eyes the clear liquid hungrily, his throat feeling dryer just looking at it.

“That’ll be 2 gold pieces.”

Oh….

“I’m sorry, I don’t have any money on me right now.” Shiro chuckled sheepishly, hand reaching towards the glass nonetheless. 

The dwarf, less than impressed was quick to snatch the glass from Shiro’s reach. “What does this look like, a charity?! No money, no drinks. Get out of here ya deadbeat!”

“Sir please, I’ve been lost in the forest for days without food and water. I will pay you back as soon as-”

“As soon as I get the money.” The dwarf butted in, his tone mocking. “I wasn’t born this morning mate, I already had to deal with that stupid lot just before, cough up the gold or get out.”

“Sir, I really need-”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, gold or get out.”

“But Sir-”

The clinking and thudding sound of money cut Shiro off as 11 gold pieces was thrown between them, both looked towards the owner, face obscured by a hood as the figure haunches over the bar from his stool.

“Get the man a pitcher of water and some food.” The figure ordered. The dwarf nodded silently as he returned the glass to Shiro before he bustled off to complete the request.

Shiro reached for his now paid for water, blatantly staring at the figure who shouted him a free meal and drinks, quirking an eyebrow at them when the figure stared back and he could have sworn he saw a glowing eye for a fleeting second.

“So… thank you for the water and food.” Shiro started awkwardly to try and break the silence between them, getting no reply from the figure. He tried to press for a conversation, which the figure refused to yield a response beyond shifting in their seat. From what Shiro gathered he was more or less talking to a brick wall so with a defeated sigh, he finally took a drink which he sculled as soon as that first drop hit his tongue. 

He needed more

Eyeing the dwarven barkeep like a starved dog to steak, the second the pitcher hit the bar he latched onto and drank straight from the jug, presentation be damned. He drank and drank and drank, feeling the water soothe his aching throat as he felt it flow down into his stomach, only stopping when he needed to breathe. Already ¾ of the pitcher was empty but he was already feeling significantly better, though uncomfortably bloated.

Now thoroughly hydrated he chose to nurse his drink till his meal came, a simple stew that may have not been much to most but to Shiro was the best meal he's had in so long that he could feel tears pricking his eyes at every mouthful. Throughout his meal he could feel the eyes of the hooded stranger bore into him, only to eventually break once he had finished to stand up to leave.

Now back to drinking from his glass, Shiro eyed the figure, who jumped back as the the two Galra who were patrolling the streets barged in and shoved them harshly

“Out of the way runt.” the taller one growled. 

“Oi Grimm, 2 of the usual.” the short stockier one boomed as she raised 2 fingers.

The Dwarf, Grimm he supposed, looked tired by the sight of the duo, that made more apparent as the only 2 other patrons were quick to bustle out of the tavern, the hooded one following suit while the Galrans had their back turned.

Dread pulsed through Shiro’s body at the sight of the purple beasts, in hopes they weren't paying attention as he quickly yanked his hood back up. He prayed they didn't recognize him, just down that final glass of water then get out, a simple plan. In three large mouthfuls he was done, slamming the glass on the countertop as he stood. Head hung low he made his way for the exit, heart thumping in his ears blocked out the duo who were jerring Grimm as he passed by seemingly ignored as he made it through the door.

As soon as the door closed behind him he paused, a few seconds passed and he inhaled sharply, finally able to breathe easy. The town was a lot quieter, in the late afternoon sun that was beginning to set, minus the two stalls being packed away, the town was more or less abandoned.

So why did he feel like he was being watched?

With breakneck speed he turned, seeing absolutely nothing… 

Maybe his paranoia was still eating at him. With a weak chuckle he moved, the summer nights were still pleasant, just make it into the forest again so he could rest easy.

Through the empty streets he walked, his arm seemed particularly aggravated as he still felt watched. The pain only intensified when he was sure he could hear footsteps and before he had the chance, he was thrown back from his hood with brute force, the cord snapping in the process, and rolled onto the dusty ground with a grunt.

“Now now stranger, don't you know it's dangerous in these parts?” The familiar husky tone of the Galran woman jerred, dangling his cape in her hand. “Wouldn't want you to get into any trouble now would we?”

Her partner seemed less than impressed by her antics, utterly annoyed to be more accurate from the way he sneered at her; mumbling under his breath before arching a brow at Shiro, as if analyzing him till he had the same sickening grin as the woman.

“Tressax?”

“Yes dear brother?”

“Do you realize who we have here?” the male inquired.

Tressax hummed, she stuck her bottom lip out as she stared at Shiro who was trying to crawl backwards from them. “He looks familiar, but can't quite place him.”

“Silly sister, that's the Champion.”

Tressax gasped, “No, King Zarkon’s Champion? You better not be fucking with me Ruezor.”

No… they knew who he was, he had to do something.

“the white hair, the scar on his face, there's no doubt about it. I wonder how much we'll get if we were to return the King’s lost property?” Ruezor mused.

“NO!” Shiro shouted, grabbing a handful of dust as he stood and flung it into their faces. The siblings cried as they tried to wipe their eyes, giving Shiro the opportunity to dash away and hide.

He only made it a few steps before a great club collided with his head and he crashed to the ground again in a daze, the club clattered next to him.

“Wiley little thing.” Ruezor commented with a grin as his sister was still trying to rub the dirt from her eyes. Ruezor advanced as Shiro groaned weakly, picking up his great club and began prodding him. “For someone meant to be the King’s greatest gladiator, he's not very impressive.”

Still dazed and convinced he was seeing actual stars, Shiro put up no fight as the great club poked and prodded him; he couldn't even hear what the creature above him was saying beyond muffled mumbling. 

His head felt foggy and scrambled, his vision unreliable but he swore he saw another figure appear between them, who disappeared just as quickly, a large smear of red flew across his blurred vision like a feature in an abstract painting. 

There was screaming and the sound of something smashing, the purple figure still above him was jerking as more red dripped into his view before the purple and red dropped from his vision. More screaming and shouting and smashing noises could be heard that carried on for a while before silence.

This foggy heady feeling was making him nauseous and tired.

Movement returned to his unclear vision, a hand on his face as whoever was manhandling him checked his head injury. There was muffled speaking from the unknown figure, and all he could do was groan before he gave up and passed out, not even sure if his rescuer was friend or foe, and he was too out of it to care as peaceful oblivion took hold of him.

\---

His body felt numb as consciousness returned to him, he could feel the presence of someone nearby and then the sudden assault of repeated poking at his forehead. Before he has any proper time to think, his right hand thrusted above his head and embedded into whatever it was jabbing his head, a strangled squawk was his response… an actual squawk?  
Blinking his eyes open he tilted his head backwards to inspect.

Oh sweet merciful gods he just impaled a chicken.

Removing his fingers from the bird, Shiro pushed himself up awkwardly, his head spinning as he rose. Bringing bloody bandaged hand to his head, he took notice that his head was also bandaged, and that he was no longer in the dusty streets of Harrow or in a dreary prison cell but instead laying on a pile of loose hay in a shed with a now dying chicken at his side.

“How on earth did I get here?” he murmured to himself. Another chicken in the shed chose then to flap its wings to fly up and perch itself on Shiro’s head, deeming it satisfactory to be its nest. 

Before he could do much else, the shed door creaked open to reveal the mysterious hooded figure from earlier, holding a pail.

“You.” was all that Shiro was able to gasp out.

“Good to see you're awake.” the figure finally spoke; it took Shiro off guard by how youthful it was, but he could identify it was definitely male.

“We're you the one who saved me?” Shiro inquired, he followed the figure, whose face was still hidden in shadows as he neared and placed the bucket in front of him without a word. The lack of acknowledgement was beginning to grate his nerves, “Did you or did you not save me from being attacked earlier?”

“...The farmer isn't going to be happy you killed his stock.”

“Why won't you answer me?” Shiro growled, the ache in his arm flared up and the chicken perched on his head took off hastily as her perch.

“Because I'm not ready, Shiro.” He finally answered.

Shiro paused, every fiber of his being tensed. “How… how do you know my name?”

The hooded man’s posture faltered, looking vulnerable at the question. Seconds ticked by before they finally broke the silence.

“When I saw you back at the tavern, I thought I was seeing a ghost… you look terrible but it was definitely you-” Shiro frowned at that backhanded comment. “When you left, I followed and watched as you took on those two Galra, but I stepped in before they could drag you away. After that I carried you here and tended to your injuries.”

“Why?” was all Shiro could ask as he let the story sink in.

The man huffed a short bitter laugh. “Because after all this time, I still seem to have to save your neck.”

Shiro’s frown deepened as he studied the figure, before revelation finally hit him.

“Keith?”

“...Yeah.”

Eyes widened and he felt like he forgot to breathe for a moment. He pushed himself to his feet and moved towards Keith who seemed to shrink at his advance. Trying his best to be as non threatening as possible, he reached for the hood and pulled back to reveal his cherished friend.

Purple. His face was purple with darker strips, eye's golden and ears elongated and pointy.

He was shocked, he felt like he should be scared but the expression on Keith's face read one of fear and anticipation.

“Wh…”

“I-I don't know, I just found myself like this sometime last year. There was one other villagers who was the same and went berserk, so when they saw me…” Keith broke off, his eyes while blank still held so much emotion. “I was just a monster to them. I couldn't go home, and I had no one to go ton and just felt lost.”

“Keith, I-” Shiro paused as he looked at the unusually small Galra, looking so vulnerable and seemed afraid yet anticipating rejection. He felt a little insulted.

Before Keith could say more, Shiro raised his and and cupped his jaw, thumb rubbing gently along his cheek, the smaller tensed at the action with wide eyes.

“Give me some credit here, you may look different but you're still the Keith I knew.” Shiro said warmly.

“Shiro…”

A few seconds passed and Shiro was still stroking his face.

“Uhh Shiro, can you stop?”

“But your face is so soft and velvety, and the darker parts feel cool and leathery.” Shiro awed, fingers then stroking along his ears to touch the pointed tips

“Stop it!” Keith smacked Shiro’s hand away, only to get a cheeky look from the older man.

“Hey hey, I'm just having a little fun.” Shiro chuckled, earning a pout from Keith.

“Well if you're done goofing around, I need to check your injuries, you took a pretty hard hit.”

Shiro nodded and he knelt down, Keith bringing his hands to his head as he began unraveling the bandages and inspected the wound.

“Well the bleeding stopped and your head isn't actually bashed in so that's a good sight. Did you want me to examine your arm?” Keith asked as he redressed Shiro’s head.

“My arm isn't injured.” Shiro stated.

Keith arched an eyebrow. “Then why?”

Shiro sighed, after what Keith just went through showing his face, he at least owed him this. Without a word he began to unravel his ratty bandages, eventually revealing what was hidden underneath, the mere sight of it made Keith gasp.

“W-what is that?”

Shiro looked back and the gnarly clawed grey hand, scaley to the touch and hard as a rock, he clenched his hand into a fist before relaxing back open. “I'm not sure… Zarkon’s witch did this after I lost my real arm in the gladiator ring.”

“Zarkon? Gladiator ring? What happened to you when this happened?”

With a tired glance, Shiro sighed. “Look Keith, please don't take this personally but I'm not ready to talk about that just yet.”

A tense silence fell between both men, golden eyes fixated on the beastly arm as Shiro began to conceal it with worn bandages.

“Does it feel strange?” Keith finally asked.

“it doesn't feel as much as my real hand but it works the same.” Shiro answered, knowing mentioning the chronic pain that ached though his entire limb would upset Keith.

It took him off guard, as if Keith was able to have read his mind, when purple hands clasped onto his firm and without hesitation, staring at his hands once more before looking him in the eyes with reassurance and acceptance.

“So what now?”

What now indeed. Zarkon has taken over and holds influence of most of the land ruled by the Altean kingdom, Those Galra from earlier were enough to prove Shiro will be a face model for wanted posters soon enough, whether Zarkon wanted his champion back or not alive he didn't know.

And then there's Keith, now suited with the face of a Galra, yet seemed uninfluenced by the change the others seemed to have fallen under. People will fear him, a genuine liability even if he's survived this long seemingly without trouble since this whole mess started.

What a situation they've found themselves in.

“Honestly Keith I have no idea, all I know is I can't stay here.”

“We. We cannot stay here.” Keith corrected. Shiro opened his mouth to say something only to be cut off. “No, you're not leaving me behind this time, look at what happened to you, you're not going alone.”

Shiro shut his mouth and couldn't help but laugh. “You certainly look different but you haven't changed at all.”

“Damn straight.” Keith puffed up his chest, only to exhale seconds later and look at the older fondly. “It's good to have you back.”

“It's good to be back.” Shiro smiled.

The clucking inside the shed grew louder as the chicken from before returned to nest on Shiro's head once more.

Keith snorted. “Nice to see you've made friends.”

“Can we keep her?” Shiro asked jokingly.

“I don't know, after what you did to your last friend.” Keith tilted his head to the body of the chicken brutally murdered by one Takashi Shirogane. “Seriously though, the farmer is gonna be pissed, so we're better get going before he finds out.”

With an extended arm, Shiro grabbed on and helped pull himself back up. The chicken flew off again at the disturbance.

“I'll just need to grab a couple things. So where we heading?”

Good question

Shiro shrugged. “Wherever the wind takes us I guess.”

For a lack of a proper response, Keith nodded anyway, raising his hood up as he lead for the door, jerking his head for Shiro to follow and sneak around the farm without raising suspicion.

This alone brought Shiro back to an earlier time when the country hadn't gone up shit creek, and the two would sneak around town playing games or challenging others to a sword (stick) fight.

Those times were long dead, both him and Keith were no longer the people they remembered from those times, but for the first time in a year, he allowed himself to enjoy what was once part of cherished memories.

And he was glad that if it had to be anyone at this moment, it was Keith with him at this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually have an art piece that goes with this that I'll post on my Tumblr (Octorabbit) and Twitter (Octo_rabbit)  
> I'd have loved to post it with this but codes really hate me when it comes to trying to embed anything orz


End file.
